Susannah Thorne – Member (MDG) of The Dyslexia Guild

Building the foundations of a new career

After a career break to bring up her children, secondary history teacher Susannah Thorne was keen to get back into education but didn’t really want to return to the classroom. She had always been interested in dyslexia but it wasn’t until her son was diagnosed with dyslexia that she
considered retraining as a dyslexia specialist herself.
“I chose Dyslexia Action because it provided online training courses and I needed to fit my studies around childcare and other commitments. Plus, The Dyslexia Guild membership post-nominals are a well-recognised sign of quality.” Although the course is completed online, she did not feel isolated: “The course forums encourage you to interact with others and the tutors are really responsive.”

Susannah qualified as a specialist teacher in 2017 and is now completing the second part of the training, the Professional Diploma in Dyslexia and Literacy, which will qualify her to work as a specialist teacher assessor and gain an Assessment Practising Certificate (APC).

Now working as a dyslexia tutor, she believes the course is giving her a solid foundation from which she can develop professionally. “The modules are practical but grounded in research, with a very strong emphasis on self-reflection.  They embed the skills you need and provide you with a fundamental understanding of how learning needs to work for children with SpLD.” As a Guild Member she particularly values having access to the National Dyslexia Resource Centre library of publications, journals and tests to support her studies. “The Dyslexia Guild Annual Summer Conference was also great for meeting dyslexia professionals from different backgrounds and learning from quality speakers and workshops.”

At the time of the interview Susannah was an Associate (ADG) member who has now become a Member (MDG).

Interview by Annie Grant, 2019.

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